The weather today was much warmer, perhaps because the snow from the previous days had mostly melted, combined with the bright sunshine.
Carrying her schoolbag, Ye Xingmian walked along the street to the school gate and soon spotted the familiar car there.
Her mood suddenly grew a bit nervous. Ye Xingmian took a deep breath and walked up to the car.
Qin Haiyue was sitting inside. Through the dark-tinted window, she could see Qin Haiyue was asleep.
Hesitating for a moment, she knocked on the window.
The knocking sound quickly roused Qin Haiyue. She opened her eyes with a hint of confusion, turned her head toward the sound, and looked out the window, spotting Ye Xingmian through the glass.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
She opened the car door and gestured for Ye Xingmian to get in.
So, Ye Xingmian followed her instruction and sat inside the car.
“Why are you so late?”
Crossing her arms, Qin Haiyue rubbed her eyes and spoke with some fatigue.
Hesitantly, Ye Xingmian took out her cellphone from her bag and glanced at it. “It’s not late… it’s not even eight yet…”
Then she turned her head to look at Qin Haiyue beside her.
Ye Xingmian, unusually, took the initiative to show concern. “Did you not sleep well last night? You look so tired.”
As she spoke, she quietly shifted a bit to the side, putting a little more distance between herself and Qin Haiyue.
After all, her mood really wasn’t very good right now. She had just had her toy bear torn apart by Lin Zi. Even though she seemed indifferent on the surface, she was actually very upset, just forcing herself not to show it.
In fact, if it weren’t for Qin Haiyue, she would have much preferred to go to Liu Yinuo’s home after leaving the Lin Family.
Yet, she had been inexplicably summoned by Qin Haiyue. She thought today would be a repeat of yesterday’s cycle, another day of meaningless staring into space.
Seemingly to relieve her eye strain, Qin Haiyue closed her eyes and said, “Hmm, yeah, didn’t sleep well.”
“Come here. Let me hold you for a bit.”
Ye Xingmian, however, remained silent and didn’t move.
Somewhat irritated, Qin Haiyue raised her voice. “I told you to come over!”
“Is it okay? If you’re going to sleep, I might press on you…” Ye Xingmian was still offering weak verbal resistance.
Unexpectedly, this time Qin Haiyue suddenly opened her eyes, staring fixedly at Ye Xingmian. The bloodshot whites of her eyes looked somewhat frightening.
Her furious gaze startled Ye Xingmian. Under that pressure, Ye Xingmian was ultimately forced to yield, slowly moving closer to Qin Haiyue’s side.
As soon as she was halfway there, Qin Haiyue gave a sharp tug. Ye Xingmian lost her balance and fell into Qin Haiyue’s arms. She tried to struggle a bit, wanting to adjust the uncomfortable position.
A voice sounded in her ear—
“Don’t move.”
The icy voice, seemingly suppressing anger, rang in her ear.
Ye Xingmian was stunned for a moment but didn’t give up struggling.
She couldn’t maintain this awkward position for long; she would soon ache all over.
“I… I’m uncomfortable. Can I adjust my position a bit?”
But Qin Haiyue acted as if she hadn’t heard at all, picking up her cellphone on her own and sending a message. Shortly after, the familiar driver returned to the car.
“Miss, are we heading home?”
Even though the driver was wearing sunglasses and had earbuds in, Ye Xingmian couldn’t shake a strange feeling of being watched.
Suppressing her discomfort, she tried again to adjust her position, attempting to change from being bent over at a sharp angle and forcibly held by Qin Haiyue to lying on her side on the seat.
However, sensing her movement, Qin Haiyue viciously pressed down on her with one hand. Now she truly couldn’t move.
What’s going on? Why is Qin Haiyue so… mean-spirited today?
Vaguely sensing something was wrong, Ye Xingmian nervously pursed her lips.
Qin Haiyue shook off her drowsy state, her mind still a bit foggy. But upon seeing Ye Xingmian, she immediately recalled yesterday’s plan.
The driver, having received the order, started the car.
“Yes, home,” she said coldly.
Taking advantage of the roar of the engine, Ye Xingmian had no choice but to start pleading. “Can you let go of me for a moment? My back is about to break…”
“No.”
An unexpectedly decisive refusal.
Ye Xingmian tried to glance up at her, meeting the gaze of a Qin Haiyue who looked extremely irritable.
She couldn’t help but grow tense—that’s it, today’s Qin Haiyue really was different from the previous days.
Afraid of provoking Qin Haiyue’s anger, she didn’t dare speak again and remained silent the whole way. Her entire body became unbearably sore.
Just as she felt her back was about to give out and she could hardly bear it any longer, the driver’s voice rang out like heavenly music:
“Miss, we’ve arrived.”
Hearing this, she struggled again. This time, Qin Haiyue smoothly released her.
She straightened up, about to sigh in relief, when her left hand was suddenly and forcibly grabbed by Qin Haiyue.
Her heart skipped a beat. She turned her head, just in time to meet Qin Haiyue’s bloodshot eyes, which were filled with an emotion called irritation.
“Alright, you can go now,” she said to the driver.
Ye Xingmian was forcibly dragged out by her, nearly stumbling as she got out of the car.
Once outside, before she could even catch her breath, the car started and drove away, roaring off with the sound of its engine. Only the two of them remained at the villa’s entrance.
Qin Haiyue forcibly grabbed her hand again, roughly dragging her into the house as if hauling trash.
The moment they entered, Qin Haiyue viciously pinned Ye Xingmian against the wall.
Her back slammed into the hard surface, and Ye Xingmian couldn’t help but let out a pained gasp, the back of her head pressing firmly against the cold tiles.
The villa’s heating wasn’t on. The afternoon sun streamed in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
Even though today was relatively warm, it was still winter. The sub-zero temperatures in the shadows were still somewhat hard to bear.
Ye Xingmian strained to lift her head, looking up at Qin Haiyue before her, her eyes filled with disbelief and tension.
Qin Haiyue had suddenly changed.
Not knowing what she was about to face next was the most terrifying part.
“You… what’s wrong with you?”
Qin Haiyue looked down at her. Her originally somewhat weary eyes now burned with excitement.
“Nothing. I’m just tired of it.”
“Tired…?” Ye Xingmian grew even more confused.
“These past few days, I’ve treated you to dinner, bought you gifts, shown you my home. Do you know what I wanted from it? Huh?”
As she spoke, she suddenly wrapped both hands around Ye Xingmian’s neck. The agony of suffocation instantly flooded her still-stunned nerves. Ye Xingmian’s eyes widened in shock.
She knew Qin Haiyue’s kindness toward her had ulterior motives, but she hadn’t expected her to revert to her original attitude so quickly. What had she gone through last night? Had something provoked her?
“I… don’t know…” Ye Xingmian’s face flushed red. She shook her head in pain, answering truthfully.
“Heh, thinking about it now, I was so stupid. I said I wanted to be your lover, and I actually started treating you like one.”
Qin Haiyue’s voice was icy and piercing.
“Let me tell you, you don’t deserve that position.”
“You are my dog. A mutt.”